Apple In Early Talks To Acquire NFL's SNF -- July 9, 2021

We recently discontinued our monthly subscription to Spectrum television. We moved to "Hulu" and the Amazon Fire TV Stick. It was my wife's idea to move to "Hulu" and my idea to purchase a "fire stick." 

Wow, every day, I thank my wife for "Hulu" and I love the fire stick. An unbeatable combination.

Because of this, I have become quite interested in streaming and the current and coming "war" among Amazon, Apple, Disney, and Google with regard to streaming. There are others, but the others will be absorbed by the former. 

Amazon and Roku seem to have similar business models; both are gateways to streaming across the entire streaming universe. It doesn't requite a rocket scientist to figure out who wins that contest (Amazon  vs Roku).  

Google owns YouTube TV which is sponsoring the NBA finals. YouTube TV and Hulu are direct competitors and for newbies, those are really the only two options in this arena. My brother-in-law and his tech-savvy son prefer YouTube TV to Hulu and have YouTube TV out at the Montana house. 

Google is a bit like Amazon and may indeed be Amazon's toughest competitor before it's all over, but that's well down the road. But again, Google and Amazon have different business models.

Disney (which owns Hulu), Apple, and a host of others are simply providing content,. Apple does have "hardware" but somehow that hardware seems not to be working for folks like me. 

Amazon's hardware, about two inches by one inch costs about $50; Apple's hardware is "laptop" in size and thousands of dollars. It's the only piece of the Apple ecosystem that seems to be both within and without, to paraphrase a line from The Great Gatsby. 

Of the four, Apple is lagging, and needs "a lot" if it wants to remain relevant with regard to streaming. Their Apple TV+ is still free. I subscribe to Apple TV+ but "never" watch it, except to see what might be playing. 

All four have very, very deep pockets, but of the four, Amazon seems to have the best business model. 

Apple's most recent big mistake: losing the MGM catalogue to Amazon. 

And then, this: Amazon recently (previously posted) bought the rights to the NFL's Thursday night game. TNF is "broken." Of all the NFL games it has the lowest ratings. Fox ended its relationship one year earlier than planned to give Amazon the opportunity to get inside the NFL door. Some folks have written me to tell me that Amazon's purchase of TNF was a mistake. I disagree. Amazon has very deep pockets and they will make Thursday Night Football work. And even if it doesn't, it adds "bragging rights" for Amazon and is another arrow in Amazon's Prime Video quiver. Love it. 

[In fact, re-reading this post: another story line. Apple and Amazon may be the last two standing when this is all over -- the "streaming wars." Amazon won the first NFL battle, getting TNF, but Apple could very well win the NFL war if it acquires SNF.]

So, now we get this story today. 

Apple is in early talks to buy rights to NFL's Sunday Ticket games. 

Brilliant. 

The NFL is not the NBA.

Apple needs this.

If Apple succeeds, I can hardly wait for the fireworks to begin: SNF and TNF. Apple vs Amazon. 

It's going to be huge. 

Hunch: Dallas Cowboys own Thursday night. Other than the Super Bowl, is the number one NFL game Thanksgiving Day which is owned by Dallas.

Remember the CBS Thursday night line-up year ago? My hunch: Amazon does. And so do the Cowboys. 

Jerry Jones. Tim Cook. Roger Goodell. I would love to be a fly on the wall.

Maybe more if one needs more to see why this works. Quick: name the only professional sport Americans -- in general -- are eager to watch.

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Flathead Lake